| Congress is back from recess, and with a government shutdown looming, the urgency to find common ground is critical. Should Congress fail to pass legislation to renew funding before the clock strikes midnight on September 30, the government will shut down, bringing many operations and essential services to a screeching halt. With two months still left in hurricane season, one of the many essential programs we are concerned about is the National Flood Insurance Program. As part of the SmarterSafer coalition, we signed a letter to House and Senate leadership this past week urging them not to let it lapse in the impending shutdown. Politico covered it here. It was announced this morning that National Parks will shut down along with the government, which is not what anyone wants to hear, but it’s a losing proposition either way. Per the Washington Post, “past shutdowns have inflicted extensive damage on parks and surrounding communities, regardless of whether the sites were shuttered, underscoring the consequences of these political impasses.” Also coming out of DOI this morning was the five-year plan for offshore drilling in federal waters. The Administration’s plan proposes to hold the fewest offshore oil drilling leases in US history. A critical point often overlooked in the offshore energy discussion is the fact these leases funnel billions of dollars to important conservation programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund. You can read more about that here. In more positive policy news, this week marked the 7th annual Clean Energy Week, a week-long event aimed at celebrating and raising awareness about clean energy technologies and their importance in mitigating climate change. Encouraging an efficient transition to cleaner energy policy is important, and to that end we work closely with the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus in prioritizing policies that update our antiquated regulatory policies and encourage investment in clean energy and other resources. The energy transition requires a secure supply of critical minerals; last year we proposed a three-part framework to address this issue, which you can read here. And in case you missed it, we did a webinar on a National Clean Energy standard a while back, which you can rewatch here. Back to Capitol Hill, we’ll be watching Congress closely through the weekend. The consequences of a government shutdown are far-reaching, affecting not only government employees but critical programs and the overall economy. We hope that our elected officials can put aside their desire to score political points, recognize that we have a divided government, and focus on the good of the nation as they work through a funding bill. |
